A Guide by Dr. Elizabeth Ellis in Atlanta, GA

#14 Accept the Forgiveness of Others

following is from a journal by a man who thought he was facing death. “So I asked if he could get me a copy of The Book of Changes as I hadn’t read it. Two days later, he turned up with a copy of The Book of Changes with Corrections to the Zhou Commentary. Deeply moved, I took it and went on to say that when we were children I thought he’d taken the mouth organ I’d bought, wrongly accused him of taking it, and then found it. I asked if he still remembered. There was a smile on his plump round face. He was uncomfortable and said there wasn’t any point in bringing this up. It was he who was embarrassed and not me. He clearly remembered yet he was being so kind to me. It then occurred to me that I had committed wrongdoings for which people did not hold grudges against me. Was this repentance?”

–from: Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian

It is easy to hold grudges against others for the wrongs they commit against us. We may hoard them like small treasures, savoring the sense of self-righteousness we feel when we re-examine them. Yet we seldom consider the wrongs we commit against others, or at least the small ones–the book we borrowed and didn’t return, the plans we canceled, the phone call we said we’d make but didn’t, the callous remark we shouldn’t have made. We are all being forgiven every day. We move about in a sea of benevolence.

Consider wrongs which you may have committed against others, and how they have forgiven you. List examples of times you acted badly, disappointed someone, failed to make amends. .

Repeat this phrase to yourself several times today. “I am grateful for the forgiveness of others.”